Jeremy Snell, the Umbrella Deep S and the African Sun

9/10/2015

Intro by Skip Cohen

There's so much helpful material in Profoto's blog archives. Over and over again I keep finding these great stories about different photographers from all over the world. The common denominator is their passion for images matched with the quality of Profoto's gear.

This story about an adventure of Jeremy Snell's makes the point about the off-camera flash system and it's ability to go anywhere! I love the what Fredrik wrote at the start about Jeremy's challenge. He needed lighting gear
that was light enough to carry around, but powerful enough to overpower the African sun. Plus, Jeremy knew that the gear had to be able to take a beating.

Visit Profoto's blog for yourself. You'll find story after story, thanks to some of the finest imaging artists in the world. Then click on the link for Profoto's Off-Camera Flash System. It's remarkable gear by a company who never strays from helping you raise the bar on the quality of your work.

Profoto's Blog

Profoto's off-camera flash system

Written by Fredrik Franzén

In 2014 humanitarian photographer Jeremy Snell packed his bag and went to Nairobi to shoot some portraits on location. The trip required a lighting solution that was light enough to carry around, but powerful enough to overpower the African sun. Plus, Jeremy knew that the gear had to be able to take a beating.

The Shoot

Hawaii-based photographer Jeremy Snell was asked to shoot a series of promotional images for the charity organization Serving Orphans Worldwide. The assignment required Jeremy to travel to Nairobi to photograph the children living at one of the organizations many orphanages. “I grew up traveling, so photographing people from all over the world is a natural thing for me,” says Jeremy. “I’ve always known I wanted to be a humanitarian photographer ever since.”

The Challenge

Traveling all the way from Hawaii to a faraway town in Nairobi, Jeremy needed his lighting equipment to be portable and lightweight. It was also important that the gear was easy to work with.

“It has to be fast and allow me to focus on what’s in front of me,” said Jeremy.

It was also important that the equipment was powerful enough to overpower the harsh African sun. Another requirement was that the flash was battery-powered.

The Solution

Jeremy used two lights to create this image. His main light was a B1 off-camera flash standing camera left, quite high up on a stand, looking down at the girl. The main light was equipped with the small yet deep and parabolic Umbrella Deep S White plus a diffuser. There was a second B1 inside the building, standing in the girl’s bedroom, flashing though the window and hitting the wall to the right. “I use umbrellas more than any other Light Shaping Tool when traveling,” says Jeremy. They’re the most compact and the easiest to use. You just pull them out, stick them on your flash, and immediately you have beautiful, soft light.”

The Gear

A few more of the portraits Jeremy shot during the trip can be seen below. Equipment used: Profoto B1, Umbrella Deep, Octa Softbox, Softlight Reflector White (Beauty Dish) and other light shaping tools.

To see even more of his work, head over to his website.